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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. fine — all right
  4. snap — to click
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cap — of ice
  8. root — of a word
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — the cause
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — a hat
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. file — a document
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com